New & Doing My Research Before Committing.

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Amie Mims

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Hi everyone,
I'm very new to the world of Guinea pigs! We are very tempted to get 2 bundles of cuteness as we have 3 children, 1, 3 & 12 years old.

Obviously I don't want to go into our adventure of pet keeping blindfolded, wouldn't be fair on the poor creatures. We want them to have the best life we can give them.

Ive been looking at hutches firstly. They would be housed on our patio. It get the sun during the day and disappears around 4pm. As its on a patio, I'm looking at a 2 tiered hutch, with 2 sleeping compartments but they can still access each other.

We would be ideally keeping them as an outside pet, but bringing them in for a play every so often. We would get a run for outside and 2 or 3 times a week letting them run around on the grassed area.

Am I doing ok so far? :-/

As they are outside all year. Any recommendations on the type of hutch to get as I dont want the poor things to freeze!

Any comments would be very welcomed.

Big thanks in advance!

Amie x
 
Hello there, and well done on doing your homework! Have you seen all the information threads under the various forum sections? For example in this New and Wannabe owners section there is info on children and guinea pigs, check lists for requirements etc. Guinea pigs appreciate lots of room, so the bigger the accommodation the better. They do not do well in cold, damp and draughty conditions or sudden large changes of temperature, so hutches need to be in a sheltered spot and out of the wind, but covers are available and I know folk who pop old duvets on the roof too to keep in the heat. Good ventilation is vital, windy draughts with driving rain are best kept out! A good deep bedding of hay in the living quarters will help keep them snuggly. Look up the info threads in the Housing section as it will avoid me duplicating anything else like keeping water bottles free of ice. If you have a large shed it might be possible to have a hutch and secure run arrangement in that? Do get in touch with your nearest Recommended Rescue centre as they will have lots of advice and, hopefully, some ready-bonded pigges looking for their forever home. Read as many of the information threads as you can and fire away with questions - we are here to help:nod:.
 
If you want them yourself, great - if they are just for the children........................

I'm currently trying to get another hutch, and have lost count of the number I have been offered, complete with guinea pigs, because they were bought as pets for the children, and the children's interest lasted about a fortnight! The cuteness factor is what is played on by the pet shops etc out to make money from them - of all the small mammals, imho, they are the most expensive to keep, the most time consuming, and the most hard work!

Two of the families offering me their piggies said they had no idea previously how expensive they were to keep!

It's like every animal, if you are determined to do the best by them, then it will all work out fine!
 
Hi. Welcome to the forum. :wel:

I have four indoor guinea pigs, so I can't help you on the outdoor accommodation questions. However, the hutch should be at least 4ft x 2ft for two female piggies or 5ft x 2ft for two male piggies. Male guinea pigs need more space and double the bowls and houses in the hutch.

Have you thought about going to a rescue centre for your guinea pigs? :) they have lots of friendly guinea pigs waiting for a new home. They usually have bonded pairs too.

Guinea pigs are great animals and such fun to own. :D
 
They will most definitely be for us too! Quite excited about it really.

I did think about a hot water tank cover for them in the winter months, wrapping it around the sleeping quarters. Also we have found a hot buddy, you heat it in the microwave and put it in with them.

The hut we are looking at is raised off the ground and you can get a "jacket" for it for when it is terribly windy and wet....... most days I'm guessing living in GB hey!

We are going to visit our local rescue centre, for advice and to see if we fall in love with some there as we would prefer to give a loving home back to these abandoned piggies.

Amie x
 
Where abouts are you based?

I like the hutch, the downside is the exposed side which will let more draughts through. I have the chartwell in 6ft and whilst it's good for being enclosed (we made a sleeping compartment for downstairs as its now two hutches after a fall out) it's not particularly well made. I have fallen foul of slight flimsy hutches, on the whole its study enough but there are some plywood areas we are looking at reinforcing. It's worth paying out extra for a really well made solid hutch that will last rather than paying out £150-200 every couple of years.

When I was looking I looked for rabbit hutches as they tend to be more spacious and more sturdy. Obviously the manufacturers have never dealt with piggies before to think some of the hutches available are ok.

Size wise you are looking RSPCA minimum of 4ft x 2ft for 2 piggies but the more space you can give them the better. I also would avoid putting them out on grass at this time of year if you are in the UK as it is too cold and damp for them now, they only have little legs so their bodies are too low to the ground to cope with the temperature.
 
Hello, welcome to the forum. Very responsible of you to do some research first. Here are a few links you'll find helpful

Guinea pigs as pets:
Companionship
Boars, sows or mixed pairs; babies or adults?
Children And Guinea Pigs - A Guide For Parents
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pigs-and-rabbits.109097/

Housing:
Getting Guinea Pigs? Items You'll Need To Buy?
Cage Size Guide
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview

Diet:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...or-a-balanced-general-guinea-pig-diet.116460/

Guinea pig behaviour:
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Sow behaviour
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs

Vet cost and access:
veterinary fees - some important information
Recommended piggy savvy UK vets: Guinea Pig Vet Locator
Recommended vets in other countries (in cooperation and with permission of Guinea Lynx website): Veterinarians - The GLX-Files

Recommended good standard and safe to use rescues:
UK: Guinea Pig Rescue Centre Locator
Other countries: Guinea Lynx :: Rescue Organizations

Could you add your location to your profile as it helps us tailor any advice to your geographical location

Welcome again
Lee
 
The only thing I would say is you talk about bringing them in for a while then putting them back outside.You can't do this in the winter as they struggle with changes in temperature.
 
I am in Suffolk, UK. Bit wet here today with storms due. Typical British weather!

This website doesn't work very well on my phone, so I'm not sure how I add my location onto my profile as I cant seem to do alot to my profile, including adding a profile picture. Tells me theres not enough memory? Maybe its my phone.
Amie x
 
Amie Mims said:
I am in Suffolk, UK. Bit wet here today with storms due. Typical British weather!

This website doesn't work very well on my phone, so I'm not sure how I add my location onto my profile as I cant seem to do alot to my profile, including adding a profile picture. Tells me theres not enough memory? Maybe its my phone.
Amie x
Click to expand...
I had that with one of my phones. Maybe @Falken or @BossHogg can help ?
 
Like @Lady Kelly I too have a chartwell hutch and the thickness of the wood is worth spending out on. I got it from home to roost with a hutch snug and rain cover. I also bought a bottle snug as you don't want their water to freeze. I have just returned to piggie owning but I have always had outdoor pigs. You just always need to make sure the hutch is covered and yes I too have done blankets and carpets in the past but mostly I would say bare in mind you will need to up you bedding costs in winter and stuff their hutches regularly. But in summer that will go down when they are out in their run eating free grass instead of purchased veggies lol good luck and we'll done for doing research x
 
Amie Mims said:
I am in Suffolk, UK. Bit wet here today with storms due. Typical British weather!

This website doesn't work very well on my phone, so I'm not sure how I add my location onto my profile as I cant seem to do alot to my profile, including adding a profile picture. Tells me theres not enough memory? Maybe its my phone.
Amie x
Click to expand...

Location added. ;)
 
Aw, thanks everyone.
Ive been made to feel very welcome. :luv: Lots of fantastic advice which has been hugely appreciated!
We are looking into every bit of advice each one of you have shared.
Very excited about getting set up and ready to go. Of course I will share my adventure along the way with you all.

Amie x
 
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